Distrust of Men Doesn't Keep Low-Income Mothers from Romantic Unions

Nov 30, 2009

(PhysOrg.com) -- Contrary to popular scholarship that attributes low rates of marriage among low-income mothers to their general distrust of men, a new study led by a Duke University sociologist finds that gender distrust may not be as influential in shaping these mothers’ unions.

Although 96 percent of 256 low-income mothers surveyed expressed a general distrust of men, researchers found these feelings did not prevent the women from entering into a marriage, live-in or romantic relationship. Instead, researchers found that mothers established forms of interpersonal trust in their partners that allowed them to enter into often unhealthy relationships that had implications for themselves and their children. The results of the study will be published in the December 2009 issue of the “Journal of Marriage and Family.”

“To fully understand the intimate union behaviors of low-income mothers, researchers must move beyond primarily using general attitudes like gender distrust to explain trends in marriage and cohabitation,” says lead author Linda Burton, the James B. Duke Professor of Sociology at Duke.

In order to facilitate romantic unions, mothers either suspended, compartmentalized, misplaced or integrated interpersonal trust in their partners. The mothers’ individual experiences with uncertainty and poverty, and their histories as domestic violence or sexual abuse victims directly determined the type of interpersonal trust they chose to enact, the study found.

For example, 87 percent of mothers who engaged in misplaced trust had extensive, untreated histories of physical and sexual abuse. One 45-year-old white mother of four children, for instance, had a lengthy history of physical and sexual abuse and was involved in a series of abusive relationships with unrealistic expectations that put her and her children at great risk for harm and financial ruin.

However, those who enacted integrated trust in their partners had substantially lower levels of histories of abuse. For example, a 26-year-old African-American mother of one child had never experienced abuse in her life and indicated that in building a relationship with her husband she was realistic and took her time in learning to trust him. She “checked him out for a year to see how he handled his business and if he did what he said he was going to do -- and he did.” This couple trusted each other in ways that sustained a healthy and enduring marital union.

“We are making a distinction between people’s general attitudes and their interpersonal efforts in trust,” Burton says. “General attitudes don’t necessarily reflect what goes on in the interpersonal relationship itself -- there are multiple forms of trust that mothers enact in their romantic unions. (Both women in the examples above) indicated that their general belief about men was not to trust them. Yet, they each used a very different form of trust in entering their relationships.”

The study’s authors indicated these findings have implications for the romantic union-trusting behaviors of women and men regardless of race or social class. They also note the findings may have implications for marriage and family policies and programs.

“The goal of promoting marriage among the poor and near-poor may be better served by urging them to take their time forming partnerships and to carefully examine how suitable their prospective partners are for lasting, intimate relationships,” Burton says. “The issue is not just getting women to start trusting men, rather, the issue also is getting them to stop trusting men in ways that are not conducive to stable partnerships.”

A new study in the Journal of Marriage and Family examined differences in the amount and type of time that single, cohabiting, and married mothers spend with their children. Cohabiting and married mothers spend similar amount ...

New research from the Journal of Marriage and Family shows that children born outside of marriage are less likely to be visited by their father when the mother is involved in a new romantic relationship. Many children born out ...

Men and women differ in how they decide which strangers they can trust, according to new research.
A study found that men tended to trust people who were part of a group with them. Women, on the other hand, were more lik ...

After a separation or divorce the chances of marrying or cohabiting again decrease. In particular, a previous marriage or children from a previous relationship, reduce the chances of a new relationship. Moreover, the prospects ...

Recommended for you

Why does time seem to crawl if you're waiting in line at the post office, but hours can fly by in minutes when you're doing something fun? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research examines the factors that determine how co ...

Why do some consumers make choices based on their feelings instead of rational assessments? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers who consider themselves independent are more inclined to rel ...

Why is it so hard for consumers to save money? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers are often impatient and do not think about the long-term consequences of spending money. ...

How do consumers react to products with diverse online reviews? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, a mix of positive and negative reviews can benefit products that are evaluated based on person ...

If you're traveling at 60 miles per hour, just a few milliseconds can mean the difference between life and death when you need to come to a quick stop. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, driver ...